quick sideM merch reviews
been a while. i'm still buying merch despite everything. no photos this time, sorry.
ice memory yusuke aoi pendant (500 JPY, originally 2500 JPY)
this is a replica of yusuke's necklace from the ice memory event, which i think is just objectively one of the best moba events regardless of who your favorite idols are. i had never worn jewelry before, but i really liked this necklace! it feels cool and masculine and adds an extra layer to my generic summer shirt outfits. very versatile— you can wear it everyday! it is a bit hard to put on and take off, however.
sideM 5th anniversary book (1500 JPY, originally 5000 JPY)
this shit is a glorified paperweight to be honest. in a near 500 page book, half of the content is completely redundant and there's a total of 12 pages of new content. by 'redundant', i meant that the book, for some reason, has every card listed in event order, and then every card listed in character order. the new content is 9 pages of concept art, which is really cool to see! but i'm disappointed that it means there's only one event per unit (essentially), and some of the choices are absolutely cooked. i like the kung fu event, but it doesn't represent altessimo well in the least and shouldn't've been their sole concept art representation. not to mention the decision to include desert kings live... that being said, the shinsoku event featured as concept art is of my favorite genbu card, so i can't be too mad haha. the other 3 pages are interviews that are all pretty nothingburger. who cares. i'm glad i got this through the surugaya free shipping campaign because this would not have been worth the 50 bucks it costs to ship something of this weight. i also bought the 2nd anni book at the same time, but i haven't had the chance to read through it in depth yet. from a quick flipthrough, though, it has a lot more interesting content like seiyuu interviews, so i'll check that out when i can.
jupiter refresh travel box (500 JPY, originally 3565 JPY)
this is one of the many boxes released around the time of the anime, all featuring more unique merch alongside regular can badges. jupiter's box included a washcloth and bath bombs. first of all, the washcloth is literally the lowest quality sideM merch i've ever seen— yeah, worse than the paper baby mobile. it's a thin, single layer cloth that isn't even hemmed on the edges. despite being unopened, it's already frayed, and i suspect if you actually used it as a washcloth it would immediately fall apart. since i got this for less than $5 i don't care, but considering the original price... i don't know, maybe it's a traditional thing to not hem washcloths... as for the bath bombs, it's a set of around 30 1.5cm balls with a subtle glitter finish. i don't have a bath, so i used four of the balls in my shower just now. i hadn't used bath bombs before, so i was surprised by how vibrant the colors were. the scent wasn't very visible and it wasn't super fizzy, but i'm guessing you're supposed to use the full set at once. this was also released in 2017 and the lifespan of bath bombs is, apparently, only a year, so i think it wouldn't've been that effective anyway. the refresh box itself was also a pretty cool way to package the product! it has a window slot in the front, so you can take out the jupiter card and replace it with something else if you wanted to.
anime cel art collection (663 JPY)
it seems like this was a bonus for purchasing all volumes of the sideM anime. it's a massive collection of cel artwork from each episode of the anime. heavy and bulky as fuck, but really beautiful... sideM anime is so beautiful. i feel so happy that it got a 2D anime... seeing the detail of each frame is incredible. i love sideM.
kumazou collab genbu kurono acrylic stand (1500 JPY)
after years, genbu finally got fullbody artwork outside of the game and CDs!!! i'm even counting voyager. that was four years ago, guys. other units have had like 5 fullbody art collabs in the meantime. i love love love the artwork for this collab. they gave genbu a really good outfit too!!! unfortunately, i was disappointed with the 9cm height of the acrylic stand for the price. i got too spoiled by the splash party amana being 14cm at 1650 JPY lol. the height is to the same scale given that he's sitting down though. i think i remember getting shocked by how tiny the kyoji collab stand was as well when izzy showed it to me. i also bought the matching acrylic charm. it's cute!